Live Blog – Lexington Regional Championship Game – Sunday vs. Kentucky

3-seed Indiana defeated 1-seed Kentucky at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington – Serruto’s 3-run oppo homer is the difference maker

Bottom 9th: Kentucky 16, Indiana 6 (FINAL)

Catcher Riley Langerman gets his first hit as a Hoosier. Evan Goforth hits a double in the gap to add a Hoosier run. Whalen hits an RBI single plating one more. Morgan Colopy walks. Flyout ends it. Winner take all game Monday night at 6pm.

Top 9th: Kentucky 16, Indiana 4

Vega works a 1-2-3 inning.

Bottom 8th: Kentucky 16, Indiana 4

Mathison doubles but is stranded.

Top 8th: Kentucky 16, Indiana 4

Vega gets two quick outs before allowing a single. Vega is doing his job of throwing strikes. Whalen collects the third out in center. At this point from my analysis

Bottom 7th: Kentucky 16, Indiana 4

Goforth grounds out. Glasser looks at strike three.

Top 7th: Kentucky 16, Indiana 4

Cooper Hellman is the new pitcher. Hellman has not been used much this season. At this point the feeling seems to be the Hoosier plan is to keep Whiteaker fresh for Monday. After a single, Hellman plunks the 8th Wildcat batter. Glant comes out to the mound. I have to think the message is throw strikes, but the next pitch is wild. After another wild pitch brings a run in, Mercer has to make another change an Adrian Vega is pitching. Indiana is running out of any reliable options for a Monday game if they can’t find a way to come back.

Vega gives up a double to Pitre and a homer to Gilliam. The Kentucky lead is 10. Indiana just needs to get outs without burning up any more pitching. Vega then plunks the ninth Wildcat of the game, and Church’s fifth of the . The umpire warns both benches and Mercer comes out to argue as there is no way Vega is doing this intentionally. Another home run makes it a 12 run lead. Vega finally strikes a batter out for the first out of the inning after 7 runs have scored.

Kentucky is pinch hitting for Jackson Gray and then inning mercifully ends.

Bottom 6th: Kentucky 9, Indiana 4

Tibbitts doubles and Mathison drives him in with an RBI single. Hoosiers manage no other scoring.

Top 6th: Kentucky 9, Indiana 3

Pyne makes another great scoop but is unable to connect with Tibbitts by throwing short and is charged with an error. A double over Whalen’s head in single has runners in scoring position with no outs. Indiana brings the infield in. A base hit to right field plates one. Taylor makes a great throw to second but the runner is called safe. Play is under review. Runner is ruled out at second. A flyout ends the inning.

Bottom 5th: Kentucky 8, Indiana 3

Phillip Glasser leads off the inning with a single. Whalen grounds into a 6-3 double play erasing Glasser. Taylor pops up to end a quick inning.

Top 5th: Kentucky 8, Indiana 3

Luke Hayden is back out, Indiana really needs a well pitched inning as the bullpen is getting thin for the Hoosiers. ⭐Josh Pyne makes a great snare and throw for the first out. Gray hits a high chopper that Pyne collects, but wisely puts in his pocket for an infield single. A flyout to single is out number two. Burkes gets even better contact for a 2-run homer.

Bottom 4th: Kentucky 6, Indiana 3

Lefty Evan Byers is the new Wildcat pitcher. He is greated by a Carter Mathison homer to right. Pyne grounds out. Jessee grounds out as well. Serruto rips a double into the left center gap but is stranded.

Top 4th: Kentucky 6, Indiana 2

Phillips plunks Felker to start the inning. Hoosier pitchers are really struggling with pitches in giving up a lot of free bases. Phillips gets ahead of Burkes 0-2 but with the help of a pitch clock violation. Burkes rips a ball down the third base line that looked like extra bases but was controversially called foul. Phillips then plunked Burkes as well. Jeff Mercer has no choice but to remove Phillips from the game with two on and no one out.

Luke Hayden is the new pitcher. He hits 97 MPH on the gun and gets ahead of Pitre 1-2. Pitre grounds out to first moving both runners into scoring position. Gilliam times up Hayden and rips a single into center scoring both runners. Hayden slipped off the mound and dropping the ball for a wild pitch. A ground out to Josh Pyne ends the inning.

Bottom 3rd: Kentucky 4, Indiana 2

Serruto grounds out on the first pitch. Evan Goforth hits a home run to dead center, bounced off the glove of Gray. Glasser singles. Martin’s fastball is a tick down to 93-mph. Whalen grounds out advancing Glasser into scoring position. Taylor rips an RBI single to cut the lead 2. Kentucky has two men throwing in the bullpen. Brock Tibbitts works the count full and Tibbitts fouls another pitch off before taking strike three on Martin’s 58th pitch.

Top 3rd: Kentucky 4, Indiana 0

Church is plunked for the fourth time in the past two days. He is bunted over and a flyout makes it two outs. Grant Smith is grazed by a pitch and awarded first. A flyout to left ends the inning with no damage.

Bottom 2nd: Kentucky 4, Indiana 0

Not the response the Hoosiers wanted. Carter Mathison flies out on one pitch. Josh Pyne and Hunter Jessee are out on weak contact. In total Martin only needs nine pitches in that 1-2-3 inning.

Top 2nd: Kentucky 4, Indiana 0

Ben Seiler gets into immediate trouble with a Hunter Gilliam single and plunking Reuben Church (who Hoosiers plunked twice last night). A sac bunt puts both runners in scoring position. Nolan McCarthy hits a monster three-run homer to get the Wildcats an early advantage. Grant Smith rips a single up the middle. Seiler plunks Gray prompting a mound visit. Felker singles to load the bases.

Jeff Mercer goes to Ethan Phillips as the new Hoosier pitcher. Phillips sets down Burkes on strikes. Smith scores on a wild pitch. Phillips walks Pitre to load the bases. A ground ball fielder’s choice ends the inning with three on base.

Bottom 1st: Kentucky 0, Indiana 0

Devin Taylor walks but nothing else is going for the Hoosiers. Indiana is being patient and fouling off a lot of pitches. Martin is throwing 93-95 with his fastball. Indiana forces him to throw 25 pitches in that inning to only the four batters.

Top 1st: Kentucky 0, Indiana 0

Seiler walks Jackson Gray on 8 pitches. Seiler is mostly in the zone with his 75 and 80 mph off-speed offerings, but he’s struggling to command his 89-mph fastball. He plunks Jase Felker and falls behind 2-0 to Devin Burkes before throwing a strike. ⭐Evan Goforth fields a grounder, steps on second and turns the double play. Emilien Pitre flies out to Whalen in center to end the inning.

Starters

Both starting pitchers were early season Friday night pitchers. Ben Seiler has re-emerged for Indiana as a one-time through the order arm either as opener or reliever. Logan Martin is returning from injury. Indiana’s Evan Goforth will play second base in place of Tyler Cerny who is serving a one-game suspension after being ejected in last night’s game for bringing a prop onto the field after Peter Serruto’s go ahead home run.

Indiana

  1. SS Phillip Glasser
  2. CF Bobby Whalen
  3. RF Devin Taylor
  4. 1B Brock Tibbitts
  5. DH Carter Mathison
  6. 3B Josh Pyne
  7. LF Hunter Jessee
  8. C Peter Serruto
  9. 2B Evan Goforth

Pitcher: LHP Ben Sieler

Kentucky

  1. CF Jackson Gray
  2. 3B Jase Felker
  3. C Devin Burkes
  4. 2B Emilien Pitre
  5. 1B Hunter Gilliam
  6. DH Reuben Church
  7. LF Ryan Waldschmidt
  8. RF Nolan McCarthy
  9. SS Grant Smith

Pitcher: RHP Logan Martin

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